Bright, warm. To college 8:00 to 12 M. Played tennis with H.H. in P.M. Studied. Sorted eggs. To K.S.P. meeting at church. Walked around town with Guy Thorpe, Lewis Larkin & H.H. To bed 12 P.M. Thankful.
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K.S.P. is Stanford's abbreviation for Kappa Sigma Pi, a fraternity, apparently, although I haven't been able to find out anything about it as yet. Stay tuned . . .
Guy Thorpe is probably a fellow by the name of William Guy Thorpe, who in 1919 lived with his parents at either 1614 Albany Street (from 1918 WWI Draft Registration) or 23 Ulster Street (1920 census). He was married some time between 1918 and 1920, but continued to live with his parents. He was about Stanford's age, and Ulster St. was about 1.4 miles from Park Place, where Stanford lived. Guy was a switchboard tester at GE in 1918; in 1920 he's listed as an electrical engineer.
Lewis Larkin may be Lewis Barber Larkin, the son of David Larkin who in 1870 lived in Glenville, NY with his parents. In 1920 a Lewis Larkin lived at 25 Foster Avenue (about a mile from Sanford) and was an employee at GE. His father was at this time an employee of Union College. Lewis is frequently mentioned in Stanford's diary.
Showing posts with label General Electric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General Electric. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 1919
MOTHER'S DAY. Rainy off and on all day. To church and S.S. (Sunday School). Took nap in P.M. To Epworth League and Church. To Haye's Room for call. To bed 10:30 P.M. Thankful for good Mother.
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What did people do to honor mothers in 1919? Stanford doesn't say specifically what his family did, but perhaps attending church was one way.
Since World War I was still going on at this time, some soldiers who were far away from home wrote to their mothers to wish them a Happy Mother's Day. Here is the text of one poem incorporated into a flyer that the American YMCA gave to soldiers at the front on May 11, 1919:
A copy of the flyer can be seen here: Mother's Day 1919, Brest, France. It was sent by a Paul B. to his mother.
Sanford apparently paid a call that day to a friend named Hayes. With a little digging in the diary I found that Hayes was Wilber Hayes, a friend Stanford spent a good deal of time with. Wilber was a lab assistant at General Electric in 1920, and he lived at 104 Jay Street, which was the address for the Gleason Building, apparently a rooming house. The Gleason Building was named for William Joseph Gleason, a prominent Schenectady resident. He was a real estate developer who also built the Gleason Bachelor Apartment Building. The Gleason Building still stands; here is a picture of it:
You can also see it on Google maps. It was about 0.4 miles from Stanford's home at 110 Park Place. I got the information about the building from the website: Schenectady History.
When I discovered the first name of Hayes, I also discovered the first name of the friend mentioned in the May 9th post, Mr. Young. He is Everette L. (not S., as I first thought) Young. In 1920 he was an instrument clerk at General Electric, and boarded at 9 Hegeman Street, about 2.5 miles from Stanford. His 1917 WWI Draft Registration card stated that he was born in 1894 in Rexford, NY and that he had a physical disability that exempted him from the draft.
Stanford certainly had a lot of friends!
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What did people do to honor mothers in 1919? Stanford doesn't say specifically what his family did, but perhaps attending church was one way.
Since World War I was still going on at this time, some soldiers who were far away from home wrote to their mothers to wish them a Happy Mother's Day. Here is the text of one poem incorporated into a flyer that the American YMCA gave to soldiers at the front on May 11, 1919:
Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky;
Hundreds of shells on the shore together;
Hundreds of birds that go singing by;
Hundreds of bees in the sunny weather.
Hundreds of shells on the shore together;
Hundreds of birds that go singing by;
Hundreds of bees in the sunny weather.
Hundreds of dew-drops to greet the dawn;
Hundreds of lambs in the purple clover;
Hundreds of butterflies out on the lawn;
But only one Mother the wide world over.
Hundreds of lambs in the purple clover;
Hundreds of butterflies out on the lawn;
But only one Mother the wide world over.
A copy of the flyer can be seen here: Mother's Day 1919, Brest, France. It was sent by a Paul B. to his mother.
Sanford apparently paid a call that day to a friend named Hayes. With a little digging in the diary I found that Hayes was Wilber Hayes, a friend Stanford spent a good deal of time with. Wilber was a lab assistant at General Electric in 1920, and he lived at 104 Jay Street, which was the address for the Gleason Building, apparently a rooming house. The Gleason Building was named for William Joseph Gleason, a prominent Schenectady resident. He was a real estate developer who also built the Gleason Bachelor Apartment Building. The Gleason Building still stands; here is a picture of it:
You can also see it on Google maps. It was about 0.4 miles from Stanford's home at 110 Park Place. I got the information about the building from the website: Schenectady History.
When I discovered the first name of Hayes, I also discovered the first name of the friend mentioned in the May 9th post, Mr. Young. He is Everette L. (not S., as I first thought) Young. In 1920 he was an instrument clerk at General Electric, and boarded at 9 Hegeman Street, about 2.5 miles from Stanford. His 1917 WWI Draft Registration card stated that he was born in 1894 in Rexford, NY and that he had a physical disability that exempted him from the draft.
Stanford certainly had a lot of friends!
Monday, May 5, 1919
Beautiful bright day. To College 9-2:30. Father, Mother and I out to John Myers with Ford. To Church to Sunday School Board supper. Took walk with Merris. Bowled at Star. To bed 12:30 A.M.
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According to the 1915 New York census and 1920 Federal census, a John E. Myers lived in Schenectady with his wife Anna (AKA Hannah) and their daughter, Esther, at #1 McClellan Street. He was 56 at the time. This may be the John Myers who appears frequently in the diaries (along with his wife Anna). Mr. Myers owned property about three miles from the Clossons (according to City records). He worked as a moulder at General Electric's Schnectady Works; his daughter was a stenographer there. She was also a Notary Public. In 1889 John E. Myers from Schenectady witnessed a last will and testament of John Bub from Glenville, NY, a farmer who lived near Thomas Closson in 1880 (according to the 1880 Agricultural Schedule of the census). That may be a connection Myers had to the Clossons. Mr. Myers may also have been a member of the Methodist Church where the Clossons worshipped.
A moulder at General Electric was responsible for fabricating iron castings used in making the metal products the company produced. Here is a picture taken from The Shop Apprenticeship System for Boys, published by GE in 1917 as a guide for prospective apprenctices, showing an apprentice and the iron casting he helped make:
Merris, also referred to in the journal many times as Mr. Merris (sometimes in combination with his wife, Mrs. Merris), may be Carl E. Merris, a well known electrical engineer who also worked for GE in those days. In 1919 he was 30 years old. Like the Clossons, Carl Merris lived near Union College (according to the 1920 census) at 620 Rugby Road (an address that no longer exists). From a write-up about him that appeared in Who's Who in Engineering, published in 1922, we learn that he was a Methodist. That may have been his connection to the Clossons.
What Stanford calls the Star is one of the three bowling alleys in Schenectady. The other two were Morse Bowling Alley and the YMCA. Stanford frequented all three and mentions them often in his journal. Here is a link to a notice that appeared in the April 4, 1919 Schenectady Gazette, detailing news about bowling leagues: Bowling Tonight. Look for it at the top of the second column. It gives you a sense, I think, of how much bowling was enjoyed back then.
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According to the 1915 New York census and 1920 Federal census, a John E. Myers lived in Schenectady with his wife Anna (AKA Hannah) and their daughter, Esther, at #1 McClellan Street. He was 56 at the time. This may be the John Myers who appears frequently in the diaries (along with his wife Anna). Mr. Myers owned property about three miles from the Clossons (according to City records). He worked as a moulder at General Electric's Schnectady Works; his daughter was a stenographer there. She was also a Notary Public. In 1889 John E. Myers from Schenectady witnessed a last will and testament of John Bub from Glenville, NY, a farmer who lived near Thomas Closson in 1880 (according to the 1880 Agricultural Schedule of the census). That may be a connection Myers had to the Clossons. Mr. Myers may also have been a member of the Methodist Church where the Clossons worshipped.
A moulder at General Electric was responsible for fabricating iron castings used in making the metal products the company produced. Here is a picture taken from The Shop Apprenticeship System for Boys, published by GE in 1917 as a guide for prospective apprenctices, showing an apprentice and the iron casting he helped make:
Merris, also referred to in the journal many times as Mr. Merris (sometimes in combination with his wife, Mrs. Merris), may be Carl E. Merris, a well known electrical engineer who also worked for GE in those days. In 1919 he was 30 years old. Like the Clossons, Carl Merris lived near Union College (according to the 1920 census) at 620 Rugby Road (an address that no longer exists). From a write-up about him that appeared in Who's Who in Engineering, published in 1922, we learn that he was a Methodist. That may have been his connection to the Clossons.
What Stanford calls the Star is one of the three bowling alleys in Schenectady. The other two were Morse Bowling Alley and the YMCA. Stanford frequented all three and mentions them often in his journal. Here is a link to a notice that appeared in the April 4, 1919 Schenectady Gazette, detailing news about bowling leagues: Bowling Tonight. Look for it at the top of the second column. It gives you a sense, I think, of how much bowling was enjoyed back then.
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